The core issues revolving around how you can control your financial, legal and health affairs in the event that you become incapacitated require you to consider drafting some important legal documents with the guidance of a lawyer specialized in family or elder law matters.

By preparing a set of documents, you can decide who will receive your assets when you die, and preserve your nest egg and make decisions if you become incapacitated. These documents form the foundation of good estate planning:

1. The Last Will and Testament is the only one of the four documents that you must prepare with the assistance of an attorney. The Last Will and Testament is your last opportunity to decide who gets your property when you pass away.

It should be drawn up by a lawyer and reviewed at least once every five years. When you review it, make sure that the people mentioned in the Last Will and Testament are still alive, available and the people you want to be named. The key people are: your heirs; your executor; your alternate executor; and your two witnesses. You should know where these people are because when you die, they must be located to attest

1) that they were physically present when you signed the document and

2) You were competent when you signed it. Witness affidavits should be attached to the Last Will and Testament.

The Last Will and Testament goes into effect when you die. That is, when the physician signs your death certificate. Until you are dead, your executor and heirs have no authority to act on your behalf. While you are alive, you make all of your financial, legal and medical decisions. But if something goes wrong and you are unable to make these decisions – you become incompetent – there are other legal documents that you can prepare to plan ahead.

2. A durable power of attorney (DPA) will allow you to legally appoint a trusted partner, family member or friend to make medical decisions for you, should you become unable. A DPA is especially wise for unmarried couples, single people, or those whose partners are deceased. Laws regarding these documents vary between states, so check with your local lawyer, physician, or healthcare facility to see what documents you can submit for your own protection and peace of mind.

The Last Will and Testament and Durable Power of Attorney documents deal with control over financial and legal matters. But how can you plan for (and help others plan for) your life, healthcare matters and destiny? You may have asked yourself this question: “If the only reason I am being kept alive is by machines, would I wish to continue to live that way?” Your Last Will and Testament and Durable Power of Attorney can not help your loved ones decide that or act on it in the case you become incapacitated by a stroke, accident or Alzheimer’s Disease.

Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins

About The Author

Ronald E. Hudkins agressively coordinates with government agencies and organizations to compile information to help consumers avoid deceptive business practices. A description of his education and experience can be found at http://www.AssetProtectNow.com.

Knowing how to relieve stress at work is more than picking the right stress management techniques – a lot comes down to your mental toughness.

Do people tend to push your ‘hot buttons’, leaving you feeling frustrated and intense? Do the mannerisms of your clients’, or their poor communication skills annoy you? Do demanding or abrupt customers make you feel stressed and uptight?

Then you need to get mentally tough!

Mental toughness is an essential stress relief skill required for becoming resilient to the pressures and stresses in work and life.

Just feeling frustrated, uptight or upset because of what someone has said or done will create tension and stress in your body.

Ronald Glaser, director of Ohio State University’s Institute for Behavioural Medicine Research said, “It’s clear that stressors produce abnormal changes in the immune system”. Glaser and his wife, Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, a clinical psychologist also at Ohio State University, studied the mind-body connection and found that chronic stress and psychological stress can impede wounds from healing, may impair the effectiveness of vaccines and can weaken the immune system of caregivers [1]. In this physical state, you may feel easily tired, emotionally sensitive, and your body becomes prone to strains, spasms and pain.

There is, however, a more positive effect created when changing the way you respond to potentially stressful situations. Carol Ryff, a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says, “There is a science that is emerging that says a positive attitude isn’t just a state of mind. It also has linkages to what’s going on in the brain and in the body.” [1]

You may not realise it, but the way in which you react to the people you work or do business with, is creating the tension and stress in your body.

Stress doesn’t happen to you – it happens because of you.
You may be unwittingly increasing the stress in your own life.

So, what can you do about it?…

Change what you focus on.

Toughen your mind by disciplining it to focus on solutions rather than problems. An undisciplined mind dwells on problems and churns over those negative aspects of people that bother you. This simply creates more tension in your body. Studies have found that ‘pain is a psychologically constructed experience’ [2].

The key of how to relieve stress is not simply finding the ‘ideal stress management technique’.
You need to change your focus. You create or reduce pain depending on what you focus on or what you believe to be true.

Focus on what you want – instead of what you don’t want.

-> Focus your mind and energy on how problems can be solved, instead of getting upset because someone disagrees with you.

-> Focus your mind on the task at hand, instead of other people’s opinions of you.

-> Focus your mind on all the good you can achieve, instead of beating yourself up over one or two mistakes.

-> Focus your mind on your good nature and sense of humour, instead of harsh words from a demanding client.

-> Focus your mind on the insignificance of your problems when you consider that over 150,000 people have lost their lives, and millions have been left homeless.

-> Worry less about people’s bad moods, poor communication and outbursts. Get the message and get on with it. You don’t need the stress.

For the rest of your days, there will be people who say things you don’t like, will disagree with you opinion and disapprove of your choices. If you let that resistance determine what you do, you’ll never be free of stress and pressure.

Looking for ways on how to relieve stress sometimes makes you ignore the reasons that are closest to home – your own thoughts and actions. Finding stress relief is not as simple as picking up a stress management book and trying out all the stress management techniques. Instead, become mindful of what you focus on and watch your stress shift.

I teach people how to become resilient to pressure and stress for many reasons, but one important reason is that in the past eight years I have lost several special people in my life due to tragic circumstances. If one positive lesson could come out of that it’s realising that life is too short to waste time getting drained from stress because of what or how other people communicate with you.

I wish for you to enjoy work, family and life – not endure it. Don’t live for the weekends – live today…because there is no guarantee of what tomorrow will bring.

Michael Licenblat B.Sc.(Psych) is a Resilience Expert who helps people in business bounce back fast from pressure, stress and burnout in their work and life. He is the author of ‘Turn Stress into Energy & Enthusiasm’.

Car repair procedures like auto AC repair, brakes repair, transmission repair and engine repair can add up to represent a huge expense in any vehicle owner’s budget. If they are done frequently and successively, a vehicle owner can deplete his savings. A vehicle owner can, however, scale down the need for undue and recurring car repairs by strictly complying with the required automotive diagnostic and maintenance procedures laid out by the vehicle manufacturer. With this one simple step, therefore, a vehicle owner can already realize significant cost cutting and savings. In this time of economic problems, any means to cut costs and gain savings would indeed be very welcome.

As a vehicle owner you can save even more by learning how to do several of the basic maintenance procedures by yourself. This way you will not always have to depend on the paid services of your auto service mechanic. Of course, you do not have to completely let go of your trusted auto service mechanic. In fact, there are a lot more automotive diagnostic and maintenance procedures and car repair jobs that are way beyond the layman’s capabilities and are best left to the skills and expertise of professional mechanics. These will surely arise despite all your best efforts at proper and timely maintenance. No vehicle can totally avoid car repair because any machine undergoes normal wear and tear even with the most careful use. Having a trusted highly skilled auto service mechanic is the means to get proper automotive diagnostic and maintenance procedures and car repair when needed.

It is expected that each and every responsible vehicle owner has thoroughly read through the vehicle’s owner’s manual. All the basic things that should be known about the vehicle and its use and care are in this document. Although it is not necessary for the owner to memorize the manual, it should be kept safe and easily accessible because it will be needed very often as reference material. All the automotive maintenance procedures required by the manufacturer are spelled out in the manual, along with the proper calibrations, schedules and frequencies. Strictly complying with all those specifications will keep the vehicle in optimum running condition for a longer service life.

With day to day use, it is the responsibility of the vehicle owner to observe and take note of any strange noise, weird odor, vibration or leak from the vehicle because these are the first signs of vehicular problems. These should be promptly reported to the auto service mechanic regularly handling the vehicle. Some signs are to be considered as emergencies, though. For example, if smoke is seen coming from the vehicle, it should immediately be pulled over and the engine should be turned off before calling for assistance.

When taking the vehicle to the auto service mechanic for a diagnostic check up, the vehicle owner should require an official written report that explains the problems found and the recommended repair solutions. His should be accompanied by an official written quotation which contains a detailed listing of the services to be provided and parts to be replaced along with their respective costs. The time schedule for the entire job should also be specified.

A vehicle owner already expects to spend for auto AC repair, brakes repair, transmission repair, engine repair or any other car repair at some point in time. These can be accommodated in the budget as long as they do not occur too frequently and successively. With the right automotive diagnostics and maintenance procedures in partnership with a reliable professional auto service shop, these car repair procedures will be kept at reasonable frequencies.